What is an asymmetric federation? Russia is an asymmetric federation

One of the important characteristics of any country of the federal system is its symmetry or asymmetry. Equality between individual subjects of the federation has a greater impact on the development of the country as a whole and individual regions in particular. In the material outlined below, we will consider in detail these two types of federations. We will discuss how they differ, what inequality is, and why Russia is an asymmetric federation.

Signs of the federation

The federation is an association of several state entities, called subjects. They do not have state sovereignty, but they have rather high powers to create their charters and laws. Individual districts and districts also obey the constitution of the country in which they are located. At the same time, they may have their own institutions of citizenship, the capital, the coat of arms and other elements of the legal status of the state. It is important to understand that a single entity can not become a party to international relations without leaving the federation. Each of them is a state, province, province, land or land (in the manner of Germany or Austria).

So, the federation has the following characteristic signs:

• The territory of the federation is divided into separate territories (subjects);
• Legislative and judicial power belongs to state bodies;
• In such states there are two chambers of parliament.

There are symmetrical and asymmetric federations.

Symmetric Federation

First, let's talk about the first type. A symmetrical federation is a federation, the main feature of which is the equality of all districts that are on its territory. Individual regions and republics are homogeneous in nature and have equal status to each other. Usually, subjects in the country have an identical name, for example, a district or an edge. They operate the same system of power, without any regional differences. The level of development of subjects is approximately at the same level, as well as individual spheres of life. Medicine and education function throughout the federation in a similar way. Most modern states are moving along the path of introducing asymmetric elements, since even extremely symmetrical federations can not exist for a long time in this form.

Asymmetric Federation

There is also an opposite type of countries. Asymmetric federation is a form of state structure in which unequal rights are exercised by different republics, districts or lands. Individual subjects in such countries differ in their status. For example, republics as part of the federation can give people a unique citizenship. They have their own constitution, different from that adopted in the country. At the same time, other subjects, smaller, can only create their own charters. Some republics at all proclaim themselves sovereign states, clearly indicating this in legal documents. All land and resources are the property of citizens living in its borders. These are not all the signs that are worth considering. Asymmetry also manifests itself in the system of tax payments. All subjects of the federation supplement the federal budget and receive a certain share of deductions. Nevertheless, some districts can be state donors and give much more than they receive, while others can receive permanent grants and exist only because of them. Some subjects even agree on lowering tax payments and leave part of the funds at home.

Examples of symmetric federation

There are not so many examples of purely symmetrical federations existing today. One such is Ethiopia. The country proclaimed itself a symmetrical federation in 1994, having documented it in its own constitution. In this form, the state can exist only for a while, since each separate region of the federation can not develop on an equal footing with others. Because of this, some changes are introduced into the state system, giving the country signs of asymmetry. Thus came in Austria and Germany.

Austria

In Austria, the administrative division of the country into 9 feudal lands operates, including the city of Vienna, which is the capital of the federation. The earths, in turn, consist of separate districts, statutory cities and communities. Legislative bodies of all lands are elected by popular vote. The governors of lands are elected by the land assembly. At the same time, administrative bodies of government are appointed by the state from above. These rules operate throughout the country, but each district has a separate judicial system, which, although linked to the federal, but still has its differences. Some areas of life, such as medicine, for example, are universal for the whole country and the countries that make up the European Union. Nevertheless, even here there is some decentralization (as in the USA). Each province in Austria has its own separate functions in the health care system, as well as a number of restrictions. The same insignificant differences can be observed in the spheres of education, energy or mining.

Germany

In Germany, a similar system works. The Federation has 16 lands. Of these, 13 are state areas, and 3 three are cities. Among the capital cities are Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen. Some parts of Germany are called federal lands, but this is not entirely correct, because according to official documents they are all united in one state and are not considered independent administrative units. Legislative body - lagda - of each district is elected by the people, after which the executive bodies, the prime minister of the okrug and others are appointed by the Landtag. The only thing that gives the elements of asymmetry in Germany is unequal representation of land in the lower house of parliament, but legally they still have equal status.

Examples of asymmetric federation

Typical examples of asymmetric federation are countries such as India, Tanzania, Brazil and Canada. The separate lands and districts of these countries differ significantly in their status and rights. Such states include the United States of America and Russia. In fact, both countries are federations with a multi-level symmetry of the federal system. At least, so it is written in the constitutions.

USA

If you become more acquainted with the system of the state structure of the United States, then the answer to the question of why this federation is considered asymmetric becomes more than obvious. So, the US is divided into 55 states. Each of them has equal rights, the inhabitants of these states are citizens of America without any exceptions. People living in the territory of the country have identical rights and duties. The catch is that, in addition to the main states, America unites with them a few more subjects. Federal District of Columbia, for example. This region is not part of any state, and people living on its territory have less rights. At the same time, no one represents Colombia in the Senate, and a delegate in the House of Congress does not even have the right to vote. This category includes island territories belonging to the United States. These are the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam. Some of these facilities are under full control of the state, and some have certain freedoms in terms of self-government. Moreover, the inhabitants of the islands are not even citizens of the United States, they are their subjects, therefore they can not even participate in presidential elections.

Canada

Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories. These types of subjects differ in a number of factors. Provinces have higher powers, which were attributed to them by the constitution as far back as 1867. Their rights are unshakable. You can change them only by changing the constitution itself. Provinces are independent of the federal government and from each other. This means that even if there are changes in the constitutional law, they will not act on that district, which will express its disagreement with the adopted amendments. At the same time, they can change their provincial constitution at any time. The independent territories of Canada can also issue laws that relate to their field of activity, be it medicine, education or commerce, but the Federal Government, for its part, can organize a program for checking a particular county on the level of competence in one area or another. The provincial governors in this case may also refuse this program.

Russia as an asymmetric federation

Russia is an asymmetric federation, despite the fact that the constitution of the state spells out the opposite. Based on the information specified in Article 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, all subjects of the state (autonomous okrugs, territories, republics) are absolutely equal. Regardless of territorial features. However, in order to prove that Russia is an asymmetric federation, it is enough to consider how some entities function, in particular the republics. Some of them have their own constitutions, elect presidents (for example, the Chechen Republic is de facto a separate state). The peoples living in these territories have their own nationality, despite the fact that they still live in Russia. Other subjects of the federation do not have such privileges. Some autonomous okrugs do at all form part of separate edges, which provokes submission of one subject to another. Representatives of the country conclude contracts with representatives of separate districts, republics and edges. In most cases, these treaties are no different from each other, but some entities are given broader powers.

The struggle of Russia with asymmetry

The Russian Federation is asymmetric, but attempts to abolish this system of the state system were made in the last century. Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin in 1990 proposed to unite all the subordinate districts and territories in the Russian Republic, but this project was not further developed. Later, in 1995, some changes still occurred. The heads of the districts were equated with the presidents of the republics. Earlier governors were appointed by government bodies, and in the period from 1995 to the present day they are elected by the people.